Gosford Racecourse Turfs Out The Old Track For A Polytrack

Gosford Racecourse is one step closer to being in line with other major racecourse facilities with a new $3.4m polytrack.

Located at the Entertainment Grounds in Gosford, the new polytrack is the first in a series of redevelopments.

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Projects lined up in the next stage of upgrades, include a brand-new stable facility, along with current stable upgrades and equine pools.

Unveiled on Wednesday, the new all-weather polytrack replaces the old synthetic turf, delivering greater safety measures for both horses and riders.

Gosford Race Club chairman Michael Cusick hopes the new polytrack will attract more trainers.

“This is probably the biggest investment and the most important cog in starting to attract trainers who potentially want to relocate from Sydney and or interstate,” he said.

“That’s the plan; to more than double the number of horses that train here on the course.

With the old turf having seen better days, Mr Cusick said the new track is a great advancement for Gosford.

“We had been patching it up for years, but reality came that we couldn’t continue to do that,” he said.

“We had to do this or really look at potentially closing training down here altogether.”

- Michael Cusick

With a boost of government funding to help finish the track, Central Coast Parliamentary Secretary Adam Crouch said the new first class racing facilities, was a welcome change according to the local racing community.

“This investment will not only ensure the ongoing sustainability of racing in our region, but importantly it will allow local trainers to compete with Provincial and City based trainers on an equal footing in respect of access to modern training infrastructure and facilities, allowing country horses to be more competitive,” he said.

“We love our racing on the Central Coast and we are starting to prove ourselves as one of the leading jurisdictions for thoroughbred racing in the country.

"This is an industry that supports more than 850 jobs across the Central Coast,” Mr Crouch boasted. 

Gosford Race Club joined up with Racing NSW to rejuvenate the training precinct on and adjacent to the Gosford Racecourse.

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